Here are Highlights from the 10th World Water Forum Event
Translator
Editor
26 May 2024 23:41 WIB
Push for clean water equity, CoE
Indonesia called for equal access to clean water on small islands at the Bali World Water Forum.
Minister Hadimuljono, who serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the forum's National Organizing Committee, said that most small island countries face the same problems, such as limited resources, urbanization, agriculture, remoteness, vulnerability to natural disasters, and a vulnerable natural environment.
“In small island developing countries, these challenges are further exacerbated by a lack of financial resources and technical capacity, thereby disrupting the implementation of climate resilience plans,” he noted on Thursday (May 23).
He said that to address water-related problems, it is important to support the development of knowledge-based understanding of the impact of climate change on small island countries, small islands, and states.
Indonesia also initiated efforts to establish an integrated center of excellence (CoE) on water and climate resilience to address the global water crisis.
Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), said in Bali on Thursday that while centers of excellence exist, they are operating independently at present.
She said that five working groups have been formed to prepare concrete steps that will be followed up in a coordinated manner with the other centers.
The working groups will meet at least once every six months to ensure continued progress on the integrated CoE.
The CoE will be the cornerstone of an alliance that coordinates steps taken by the centers of excellence to tackle water issues globally.
Bali Basin Action Champions Agenda
The participants of the 10th World Water Forum on Friday (May 24) agreed on the “Bali Basin Action Champions Agenda” that contains a new commitment to support river basin management to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
"All participants in this segment welcomed this decision to further consolidate river basin management as a political priority by continuing to include river basin issues in high-level political segments," secretary general of the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), Eric Tardieu, said in Badung, Bali, on Friday (May 24).
He informed that the river basin issue also covers the ministerial, parliament, and regional government segments.
The Bali Basin Action Champions Agenda includes collaborative steps such as the launch of the Twin Basin Initiative (TBI), a global program for capacity building and experience exchange between global organizations working on integrated water resources management (IWRM) at the national river basin level and across countries.
To achieve the goal, TBI will support joint capacity-building activities, such as webinars, face-to-face exchanges, and study visits, as well as learning dissemination on a global scale, such as peer-to-peer and at the community level, Tardieu informed.
INBO is an organization that monitors the implementation of integrated water resources management in national and transnational river areas, lakes, and aquifers from an integrated governance perspective.
The organization pays attention to strategic planning, joint information systems, and sustainable financing in efforts to address the challenges of climate change, biodiversity preservation, and cross-border cooperation.
Saudi Arabia takes over as next host
Minister Hadimuljono, representing Indonesia, handed over the baton to the next host of the World Water Forum — Saudi Arabia — on Friday (May 24).
"I hereby declare that the 10th World Water Forum is officially closed," he said in his speech at the forum's closing ceremony in Bali on Friday.
Though the event has ended, the joint work is still not finished, the minister added.
He said that many things need to be improved and stressed the importance of continuing various concrete actions formulated at the forum.
"The various commitments in this forum must be followed by real action," he emphasized.
He said that the compendium of 113 projects worth US$9.4 billion, which was issued along with the ministerial declaration on May 21 must be realized to provide benefits to the public.Indonesia has officially closed the 10th World Water Forum, which resulted in a ministerial declaration containing 16 points of agreement, three of them on Indonesia's priority agenda.
The first of the three was the establishment of a center of excellence on water and climate security to develop capacity and utilize superior facilities.
The second pertained to the mainstreaming of water management issues for developing countries on small islands. Even though it is surrounded by water, Indonesia still needs a proper management system to overcome the challenges of clean water quality and availability.
The third was the designation of a World Lakes Day since lakes are a source of water that supports humans and also have social and economic functions.
ANTARA
Editor's Choice: Indonesian President Shows Mangrove Conservation to 2024 World Water Forum Delegates
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
